The Battle of Saratoga is well known for being the “turning point” of the Revolutionary War. The Battle of Saratoga actually consisted of two important battles that ultimately led to the American victory, which would send shock waves across the world. It was the first time that other countries began to believe that the Americans could win the Revolutionary War. The Battle of Saratoga proved several ideas to the American public and the Continental Army. Primarily, it proved that with supreme leadership and loyal soldiers the Americans certainly do have the potential to reach the goal of independence. Throughout this article I will examine the background and details of the Battle of Saratoga and look at the insurmountable leadership from Major General Horatio Gates. In the late summer …show more content…
First, the British General was able to conquer Fort Ticonderoga losing only a few casualties. However, along his travel south he was going to encounter several more guerrilla type attacks. This cost the British Army several resources and made for a very slow movement, which the Americans were able to capitalize on. Later, on August 16, Burgoyne lost nearly one-thousand troops in an attempt to capture much needed American supplies in Bennington. This left General Burgoyne at an even greater disadvantage for the upcoming events at Saratoga. Finally, after several months of travel General Burgoyne and his men reached Saratoga and was advised about General Gates and his blockade. He divided his men amongst three brigades. The first brigade moved closest to the Hudson River, commanded by General Reidesel. The second brigade moved directly south near Freeman’s Farm, controlled by Colonel Hamilton. The final brigade swept to the west in attempt to maneuver around the Americans western flank, led by General Fraser. While General Burgoyne placed himself in the center rear to have best command and
General Burgoyne had been abandoned by General Howe at the beginning of the Saratoga Campaign, which resulted in an immediate disadvantage for the British when fighting the American forces. The Battle of Freeman's Farm showed promise for Burgoyne’s forces at the outset of the Hudson Valley campaign on September 19th, 1777, but he could not sustain food supplies and soldier reinforcements for latter battles. During the Battle of Bemis Heights on October 7th, Burgoyne was outnumbered by the American forces, and he struggled with malnourishment of his soldiers. This led to the capture of many British soldiers by the Americans, which resulted in his retreat and surrender in Saratoga on October 17th. The large-scale strategy to divide the Northern states from southern states had failed due to a lack of merger of Howe and Burgoyne’s armies to destroy the American forces under General Gates.
BG Morgan understood the operational variables military and physical terrain. He
After the siege of Charleston, Sir Henry Clinton traveled back to New York leaving Cornwallis in command of the British campaign in North and South Carolina. On the morning of August 16, 1780, General Horatio Gates chose to fight Cornwallis’ force even though just the previous night his men suffered the terribly infectious illness of dysentery. Gates was confident in his American army of around 3,700 soldiers because they outnumbered the British army of around 2,100 troops. The American advantage ended quickly as one thousand American troops were unable to fight due to the illness they suffered the night before.
(Scythes,n.d)After a few years, the Revolutionary War had broken out, and Horatio Gates was a supporter of independence, driving him to become Brigadier general. Soon after the evacuation of Boston in 1776, Gates had problems with General Philip Schuyler regarding the command of the Northern army. When they brought the disagreement to congress, they sided with Schuyler and Gates was of less command under Schuyler. Gates and Schuyler met the next year at the battle of Ticonderoga where they fought alongside each other. Gates then took charge of Schuyler's almost defeated troops, and combined them with his own, nearly winning the day.(Kline, n.d) Not long after during the invasion of New York in 1776, Gates and his troops were able to push away Major General Guy Carletons assault.
This was one of many battles that the American Army would win. One of the biggest battles of The American Revolutionary War was the Battle of Yorktown. “You are not aware that Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington, Cornwallis surrendered to General Washington on the nineteenth of October, in Virginia, at the port of Yorktown” (Bristow 382). The British were trapped at Yorktown, Virginia and British General Lord Cornwallis surrendered 8,000 British troops (Citation). This was a tremendous victory for The American Army!
During the Revolutionary War the British were the strongest naval and land force in the world. This was due to their ability to expertly fight by lining up and firing directly at each other. From the day that America signed the Declaration of Independence to the very end of the Revolutionary War the colonists and General Washington had to use different strategies to defeat the British. The first example of his unconventional methods was at the battle of Yorktown. General Washington and the French had General Cornwallis trapped by land and sea and they forced him to surrender.
During these battles it was Arnold who led the Americans to defeat Britain’s chalenging army. Although it was General Horatio Gates who was in charge it was Arnold’s action that helped lead them to victory. During the Battle of Saratoga, the continental army was retreating but Arnold would not accept that.
While commanding the 1st Division of the Cavalry Corps, Buford ran into the Army of Virginia which caused him to advise one of his brigades to defend against A.P Hill’s Confederate III Corps. “Buford’s skillful defensive troops alignments along with the bravery, dedication, and the skill of his men, gave the Union First Corps, under Major General John F. Reynolds, the time it needed to deploy to meet the Confederates outside of Gettysburg…” (Civil 1). Buford knew exactly what to do in a time of crisis. This was the foundation of Buford’s master plan.
When he was a general in the Continental Army he (with Horatio Gates) lead forces during the Battle of Saratoga. The Battle of Saratoga was pivotal to the success of the Continental Army. The Battle of Saratoga was in Saratoga New York, in the Fall of 1777. The British planned a three-part rendezvous. Only one part showed up, but the battle was still not a easy win.
Orders were given to Major-General Pickett to form his line under the best cover that he could get from the enemy 's batteries, and so that the center of the assaulting column would be there at the salient of the enemy 's position, General Pickett 's line to be the guide and to attack the line of the enemy 's defenses, and General Pettigrew, in command of Heth 's division, moving on the same line as General Pickett, was to assault the salient at the same time. Pickett 's division was preparing to star, two brigades in the front line, supported by his third brigade, and Wilcox 's brigade was ordered to move in rear, to protect it from any force that the enemy might try to move
Going behind enemy lines and gathering intelligence is an extremely dangerous task, but during the Revolutionary War, the use of spies was critical to winning the war. Through several battles, both the Americans and British employ spies to risk their lives and collect enemy intelligence. Spies intercepted secret messages at the Battle of Saratoga and West Point and gathered crucial information at the Battle of Yorktown to prepare for the battle. Winning the battles of Saratoga and Yorktown and holding West Point severely impacted the outcome of the war. At Saratoga, they were able to gain French alliance.
The Gettysburg Battle was the turning point in the war because each side experienced a serious event in which the Northern morale had boosted and Southerners are starting to back down and throw in the towel. Back in the 1860’s President Abraham Lincoln was elected the 16th president of the United States of America. This caused an uproar in many of the Southern states because they believed he would outlaw slavery. Then, several states seceded after a while to make the Confederacy. Each side soon entered a Civil War for different reasons, the North’s was to bring back the other half of America, and the South’s to become its own country.
Even after losing the battle, American forces gained confidence to become stronger. The battle of Bunker Hill provided encouragement for the colonists and helped Americans gain independence. It helped the colonists send a clear message to the British that they were able to stand tall and strengthen their colonies to fight for their freedom. This battle was a very significant event in the Revolutionary War and had a direct affect on the outcome of the war and our history.
The Battle of Valley Forge was the turning point of the Revolutionary War. Although no actual military battle was waged here, George Washington’s Continental Army faced some physical and mental battles of their own in this Pennsylvania town. It was here at Valley Forge, Pennsylvania where the Continental Army Soldiers of the Revolutionary War chose to go after being defeated in the Battle of Germantown in October 1777. During this winter, Washington’s troops came to this encampment to recuperate and train for future battles with the British.
Therefore, the turning point in the Revolutionary War was the battle of Saratoga because British troops surrendered their arms, French joined their allies, and the Patriots had crucial